Posted by Sue Seagroatt
A very successful summer term for our Juniors was brought to a close in Hillingdon with our traditional fun tournament and party. The three teams at the tournament were captained by Daniel Culyer, Max Jensen and David Reynard. It is always a pleasure to watch the keen competition, enjoyment and cooperation across the whole age spectrum at this event – a true example of all that is best about Penguin.
Congratulations to all the players, and the winning team, Team Daniel: Tom Burch, Michael Seagroatt, Daniel, Matthew Emerton, Audrey Tala, Joshua Pan and Amber Restall.
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We were pleased to have Steve Baker presenting the awards at the party following the tournament. After the hard work he put into establishing this branch of Penguin, Steve is glad to see his legacy flourishing.
Certificates were presented to the London Youth Games (LYG) Best U15 Team who were delighted to show off the plate they won. Everyone thanked Aram for his excellent coaching of te team, somehow unimpeded by his broken ankle. There was also special praise to Ian Grimwood the LYG Tournament Director. The 2016 LYG Water Polo Tournament was the best ever thanks to Grimbo’s hard work over the preceding year.
Awards Jan-July 2016
There were 4 awards for the younger age group :
Best Young Newcomer: Audrey Tala who has worked hard to improve her swimming.
Most Improved Young Male Player: Antonio Bardella, the U13s top goal scorer.
Most Improved Young Female Player: Melissa Pala, one of our youngest members, another great swimmer and already picked for the U13s.
Manager’s Young Player: Nikola Christov, works hard in every match, particularly outstanding in the LYG.
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And 4 awards for the older category:
Best Older Newcomer: Zak Smith, always smiling, despite joining recently made a big contribution to the LYG team.
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Most Improved Older Player: Aleks Kozlowski, works tirelessly to improve his technique.
Manager’s Older Player: Daniel Culyer. His excellent leadership steered his team to win fun tournament. This was Daniel’s last appearance before leaving for university, after 11 years playing water polo and nearly 8 years with Penguin; he will be much missed, not only for his water polo talent, but also his great sense of humour, and his team player ethic.
A big thank you for all the parental support, especially Sue B and the party organisers: Patrizia, Massimo whose pizzas were much complimented, Mike, Sam and Giovanni, and to Youguang for his photography skills.
The Jack Petchey Award and Under 14 Trophy were also presented, watch this space for more information.